Renewables to account for three-quarters of UK’s power demand by 2050
22nd May 2020 | Commercial Energy
The UK could source 76% of its power demand from renewables by 2050, according to a new report from RenewableUK which claims the nation’s net-zero target will spur rapid demand for green hydrogen while attracting more than £59bn to an already world-leading offshore wind sector. The new report from RenewableUK reaffirms that despite temporary setbacks to the renewables sector caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the UK is set to witness a massive uptake in low-cost green power.
The report notes that the UK’s offshore wind sector, which has accounted for almost 50% of the £80bn spent on the technology across Europe since 2010, can attract a further £54bn in private investment. This, RenewableUK states, would help quadruple offshore wind capacity in the UK to 40 (GW) by 2030 to provide more than one-third of the nation’s electricity. By 2050, capacity could grow to 90GW.
Renewables
For offshore wind, a 10-year, £100m industry-funded programme was launched in June 2019 to spur the growth of the UK’s offshore wind sector and benefit UK businesses. However, the RenewableUK report echoes a recent study from Atkins, that found that offshore wind would need to overcome a “capacity gap” to help the UK reach its net-zero target.
Onshore wind could also enjoy a boost in capacity, reaching 26GW by 2030. RenewableUK notes that overall wind capacity can grow by 66GW by 2030 to provide more than half of the UK’s power demand. However, to meet the net-zero ambition, total wind capacity would need to expand six-fold from 22GW today to 126GW by 2050.
Much like the Atkins report, RenewableUK expects energy storage and green hydrogen to “grow exponentially”. The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) notes the 95% of hydrogen was produced using fossil fuels in 2018, but there is scope to produce hydrogen using renewable electricity.
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